2024-05-15
News Categories : Committee News
Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means stated that a report on whether there has been an increase in student attendance in primary schools and also to provide a report on schools with less than 100 students with the mid-day meal program and to provide the number of students in primary grades and number of students given meals in schools where there are only less than 100 students. Apart from the said, the Committee Chair instructed the Ministry of Education to give a report on the progress regarding the entire program.
The above matters were discussed when the Parliamentary Committee on Methods and Procedures met at the Parliament premises under the chairmanship of Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka.
It was disclosed during the Committee on Ways and Means which took into account the meal provided to school children in government schools has increased from eleven hundred thousand to sixteen hundred thousand in 2024. Accordingly, the Rs. 80 allotted for each child has been increased to 110.
It was also disclosed that the criteria have been prepared regarding the quality of the meal and the follow-up regarding the meal program will is done by the Provincial Department of Education, Regional Educational Services officers and public health inspectors.
It was reported that 600,000 school students come to school without breakfast, and after the implementation of this meal program, the attendance of school children has increased.
It was also stated that 16.6 billion rupees are spent on school meals per year, but there is a shortfall of about 4 billion rupees. The Chair stated that although Sri Lankans abroad are very willing to provide assistance for the program of providing meals to school children, they are reluctant to provide such assistance directly to the government. The Chair therefore instructed to find out whether there is any legal obstacle for providing such assistance to teachers' unions and school development societies. Furthermore, the Chair instructed to prepare a system for receiving complaints based on social media and stated to use a system such as regular reporting on the quality of food provided through WhatsApp.
In addition to the said, it was stated that under the Aswasuma welfare program, payments to nearly 1,000,000 families in May 2024, out of which payments have been paid to 313,947 families and 653,047 families under the category of extreme poor and poor respectively was made.
It was also revealed that 200,000 eligible people have not been able to receive such payments despite being eligible for such due to various reasons such as problems with national ID cards and accounts. Further, the Committee inquired about the progress in resolution of appeals.
The Chairman of the Committee recommended to the Welfare Benefits Board to provide a report on the methodology and criteria inclusive of the correct information pertaining to the amount paid under each category in May this year, the number of benefited families, the number of appeals submitted, the number of new beneficiaries to be selected, etc.
Moreover, since there is an issue as to which category of official is responsible for implementing Aswesuma in the Grama Niladhari domain, a report on the said, and a report on the statistics of those who have provided false information to get the benefits, as it has been revealed that a large number of people have given false information and obtained the benefits from Aswesuma was requested to be provided by the Committee Chair.
The Committee Chair inquired how the instructions given earlier by the Ways and Means Committee to connect the loan scheme for small and medium scale industries of the development centers and commercial banks to this program have been implemented. The Chair asked to provide an information report on the proposed family enforcement program with relevant time limits to his committee.
The monthly stipend given to the elderly was also discussed and the chairman instructed to give a detailed report on the cost of the monthly stipend to the kidney patients to the Committee on ways and means.
State Minister Hon. Sisira Jayakody, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. S. M. M. Muszhaaraff, Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Hon. Udayana Kirindigoda, and Hon. Sudath Manjula, were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-04-29
The Select Committee of Parliament to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah and report to Parliament and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, called officials from the Department of Meteorology and the Disaster Management Centre to appear before it.These matters were discussed when the Committee met recently in Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. minister (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa. The meeting was attended by a group of senior officials from the respective institutions, including the Director General of the Department of Meteorology, Mr. Athula Karunanayake, and the Director General of the Disaster Management Centre, Major General (Retd) Sampath Kotuwegoda.During the meeting, the Committee inquired into how the Department of Meteorology and the Disaster Management Centre operate as primary responding institutions during natural disasters.Officials also clarified the shortcomings in the existing system as well as deficiencies in the relevant technical equipment.It was also decided to summon officials from the Department of Irrigation and the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka before the Committee in the future to examine how those institutions function as primary responding bodies, and subsequently to call these institutions separately to investigate incidents related to Cyclone “Ditwah.”The meeting was attended by the Committee members including Hon. Deputy Ministers Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, Major General (Retd.) Aruna Jayasekara, and Anton Jayakodi, as well as Hon. Members of Parliament Attorney at Law Anuradha Jayaratne, Hector Appuhamy, Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, M.K.M. Aslam, Attorney at Law Anushka Thilakaratne, Kandasamy Prabhu, Ruwan Mapalagama, and (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam.
2026-04-28
The Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities held discussions with several ministries regarding the allocations made in the 2026 Budget for persons with disabilities and the progress of related programs. The meeting took place recently in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva.During the meeting, relevant ministries presented matters related to higher education, religious and cultural sites, accessible housing for persons with disabilities, access to credit for entrepreneurship, and technological innovations.Accordingly, the University Grants Commission stated that 143 students with disabilities were admitted during 2024/2025, and it is expected to increase this number to 203 in 2025/2026. Each university has been allocated between Rs. 25–50 million for infrastructure development. It was also noted that an additional monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 will be provided to low-income students with disabilities. Officials further stated that a pilot project is being implemented to admit students with disabilities into medical faculties in several universities. Measures will also be taken to recruit permanent sign language interpreters for universities and to develop a program to identify students who become disabled due to accidents and provide them with assistive devices such as wheelchairs.Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs stated that coordinating officers have already been appointed under the ministry to handle matters related to persons with disabilities. The Chair of the Caucus drew attention to the lack of physical accessibility at religious places, especially temples. It was decided to coordinate with the Central Cultural Fund and the Department of Archaeology to improve accessibility infrastructure at religious and historical sites.The Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply has allocated Rs. 500 million to provide sanitary facilities for persons with disabilities in the Western Province and plans to construct 9,700 houses in 2026. The ministry also agreed to adopt a special loan scheme for persons with disabilities and to develop “model plans” to construct houses that meet their specific needs.Officials further informed the Caucus that housing construction will be carried out based on flexible “model plans” designed with consideration for the specific needs of persons with disabilities.The Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development pointed out that there is a significant “trust gap” between banks and entrepreneurs with disabilities, making it difficult for them to obtain loans. Accordingly, the Chair instructed the ministry to explore the possibility of introducing a Credit Guarantee Scheme for micro and small entrepreneurs with disabilities.In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology stated that it will pay special attention to research that supports the needs of the disabled community, particularly in the commercialization of innovations. The Caucus advised the ministry to encourage research teams to develop assistive devices and to prioritize bringing such products to market.Officials from the Ministries of Youth Affairs and Sports, Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, and Environment also shared their views.The Caucus further decided to review the progress of all the proposed plans by each ministry again in six months.The meeting was attended by the Deputy Co-Chair of the Caucus, Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, members of the Caucus including Hon. Members of Parliament Padmasiri Bandara, Chandima Hettiarachchi, and with the permission of the Chair, Hon. Members of Parliament T.K. Jayasundara and Jagath Manuwarna, along with a group of officials.Representatives from several organizations, including the National Forum of Women with Disabilities, the Sri Lanka Central Federation of the Deaf, the Little People Association, and the Youth Network with Disabilities (YND), also attended. Additionally, representatives of the disability community were present as observers at the invitation of the Chair, along with officials from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
2026-04-09
The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) met on 07th April 2026 under the chairmanship of Hon Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva.The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, along with members of the Governing Board, the Monetary Policy Board, and senior officials, attended the meeting as part of the Central Bank’s statutory presentation to Parliament conducted once every four months.Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe, (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathnea and Nishantha Jayaweera, Hon. Members of parliament Rauff Hakeem, Attorney at Law, Ravi Karunanayake, M.K.M. Aslam, Nimal Palihena, Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, Wijesiri Basnayake, Thilina Samarakoon, Champika Hettiarachchi and (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law were also present at the meeting.During the meeting, the Committee took up as a matter of priority the alleged fraud at NDB Bank. The Committee initiated a focused discussion with the Central Bank, underscoring the seriousness of the issue and the need for urgent attention.The Governor informed the Committee that an initial investigation in this regard is currently underway. He further assured that the Central Bank will report back to the Committee at the earliest possible opportunity once the necessary information has been gathered.The Committee observed with serious concern that there appear to have been considerable lapses in corporate governance at the bank, deficiencies in supervision by the relevant departments of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and undue delays in the reporting of material information.The Committee firmly underscored that such shortcomings are unacceptable and directed that immediate corrective measures be undertaken. It further emphasized that it will continue to closely monitor this matter and exercise stringent oversight to ensure full accountability, transparency, and the safeguarding of public confidence in the financial system.
2026-04-02
The Committee on High Posts has approved the appointments of four Ministry Secretaries.The approval was granted when the Committee met in Parliament recently (Mar. 20) under the chairmanship of Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.Accordingly, the Committee approved the appointments of Air Vice Marshall H.S.S Thuyyacontha (Retd.) as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Mr. L Mohamed Navavi as the Secretary to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. W.M.D.T Wickramasinghe as the Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Mr. W.W.S Mangala as the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation.
Handbook of Parliament
The System of Elections in Sri Lanka
How Parliament Works
Business of Parliament
Copyright © The Parliament of Sri Lanka.
All Rights Reserved.
Design & Developed by TekGeeks
